Hey guys,
I've been in the honda forums for a while now, but i'm going to be buying a used evo in the near future so i'm getting to know the evom forum.
I just test drove an red 03 VIII w/ 35k miles & a sunroof that was listed for sale by a used car dealership. I've traced the history back and I know the past owner through friends and they can vouch it was kept stock and not beaten. The car is being offered to me for 24,800 which is below dealer KBB value, but that's still a little on the high side for me. My plan thus far was a used evo, for around 21k. I have already PM'd a few of the guys on this forum about their cars listed for sale, but i have a few questions.

1. Would I be better off spending the extra 3k for 35k miles vs. 50K?

2. When driving the car I loved the low & mid range torque, but around 5k there seemed to be some power drop off, how much would I need to spend to make it pull strong all the way through?

3. Would i be better off buying a car that has been lightly modded already or buy a stock evo and start from scratch?

4. The guy selling the car filled the IC spray resivoir up but it dropped the level down about 3" and stayed, is that a crack or is the hose on the side an automatic drain to keep it from being overfilled?

thanks for your answers, i'm sure i'll have more in the near future.

 

1. You can always squeeze a lower price out of the dealer. Don't pay what they're asking. Keep lowballing them. What is your budget honestly?

2. Hmm.. the power shouldn't really drop off that much until after 6k. Maybe you're just not *feeling* it because the torque is dropping, but you still have decent horsepower. For more top end, upgrade the hotside of the turbo to a 10.5. $200 part for good gains. A turbo back exhaust and ecu flash will help out a ton also.

3. I'd buy a stock car over any modded car. The more power you make, the more stress and wear are caused on the drivetrain. Period.

4. The IC sprayer is kind of a feel good thing. You don't even need it. The newer models don't have one.

 

1. To know the history of the car is a good thing

2. Power drop off is normal a 200 dollar tune will take care of that

3. Better off buying a car that is not beat on I dont mean that if its lightly modded its beat on. But most on here take really good care of there cars and are willing to tell you all the details and maintence tips

4. Yea theres an overflow if you fill to where it starts to come up the neck it spills out on the ground. Got me the first time too.

This site is extreamly informative you can search for just about any information you want.

GL with whatever decision you make you wont be dissapointed after all its an EVO

 

Yea they are asking way too much. I just picked up an 03 with the sunroof and HIDs with 21k miles for 22k. They had it listed at 24k, but you never pay what they ask unless your heads in your rear. If your going for an '03 I would really try and find one at a Mistu dealer. For $200 I got them to certify it for the 100k mile waranty. I think I made out pretty well.

John

 

Here's the whole story on the car,
I found it on autotrader at a mercedes dealership in new hampshire, but they sold it to this used car dealership. They had it listed at 24888, we wanted to try to get 27k for which is rediculous. My budget really depends on what i can get for a % on a loan... probably 8ish on a used car. I also found a 05 leftover in Rhode Island for 28500 in black (tied w/ blue for my 1st choice).

For a used car I don't want to spend over 22k for a stock evo. I'm going to try to sell my car at the same time so I can use that towards the car, but I still don't want to go over 22k regardless of what i get for my car. (anyone want a 98 turbocharged integra )

Time to do some searching

 

Err get the leftover, you'll be happier and have peace of mind.

Unless you know the guy well, don't trust the car. He could have returned it to stock to sell and all that.

I got mine through a buddy so I got lucky.